Monday, September 2, 2019

#Author Interview and #NewRelease - Nobody Else But You" by Claire Marti

Thank you so much, Claire, for visiting my blog! Congrats on your new release.
Author Interview

What kind of research did you do for NOBODY ELSE BUT YOU?
My heroine, Samantha “Sam” McNeill is the horse breeding manager on a quarter horse breeding ranch. I visited a woman named Kasey Bennett, who has been doing this job on a large ranch in Bonsall, California. She spent about two hours showing me around the ranch, explaining the breeding process in great detail, the process of shipping doses from the resident stallion all over the country, the foaling process, and also the rehab process for injured horses. If you read the first few pages, I share some of the more humorous (in my opinion) aspects of breeding. 

My hero is a stuntman and I researched the Hollywood stunt industry. Also, I spend a great deal of time in Rancho Santa Fe, with private yoga clients on their horse ranches several days a week. I used that familiarity with the unique environment.

Do any of your characters take over and write the book themselves sometimes? Who? 
Actually, this situation happens to me with every book I’ve written. My stories are character driven and before I plot a story, I begin with a character and explore their wounds and motivations in a great deal of detail. What’s funny is often I find it happening with my male characters more than the women. Holt definitely took the wheel in various situations in NOBODY ELSE BUT YOU.

What do you prefer: ebook or print? Why? 
I love print. I’m old and growing up I was a bookworm. I love the tactile experience of turning the page. I do also read ebooks, primarily when I travel, simply because of space.

What did you do when you received your first Acceptance Letter? 
I danced around the house and then drank champagne. 

Sometimes the romance genre gets a bad reputation for being cliché and full of Fabios. How do you respond to that? 
I ask people if they’ve ever actually read a book from the best selling genre. Most times, they have not. Then, I simply smile and tell them that I find life can be tough and writing stories with hopeful and happy endings is a way to spread joy.

What is your favorite book? Favorite author?
The Gallaghers of Ardmore trilogy from Nora Roberts. She is my favorite author. 

Besides writing and reading, what are some of your hobbies?
I’m a yoga teacher and I love yoga, Pilates, walking on the beach, reading, hanging out with my girlfriends, travel, and being with my husband.

What’s your most bizarre life experience?
Too many to pick just one! 



Blurb

A smoking hot stuntman. A fiery horse breeder. And a 220-acre ranch too small for both of them.

She’s avoided Hollywood for years…

When an arrogant Hollywood stuntman struts into Samantha McNeill’s breeding barn, sparks fly. She doesn’t care how mouthwateringly gorgeous he is, not when he assumes Pacific Vista Ranch’s resident horse breeding manager must be a man. Not to mention his job threatens to pull her family back into the paparazzi filled world they escaped from over a decade ago. 

Now it’s at her door––wearing faded jeans and a wicked grin.

Holt Ericsson can tell the beautiful redhead hates him on sight and the feeling is becoming mutual. But he will call in a favor and convince Sam’s legendary director father that Pacific Vista Ranch is the only suitable place left in California to film an epic Western. Holt’s invested all his savings in the movie and his entire career is riding on it. No way will he allow one irritating, sexy woman to stand in his way.

Sam intends to fight him at every turn…if only her heart didn’t race when they’re together. Holt does his best to steer clear of her…except all he wants to do is hold her close. The sizzling attraction between them is either going to burn up the sheets or burn down the ranch…

Excerpt

Swallowing a flutter of nerves in her throat, she rapped on the door. She was simply going for business. Ranch business. Bringing him dinner was simply being polite, like her father had raised her to be. So why was her heart hammering against her ribcage?
“It’s unlocked.” A muffled voice called. So much for manners. Holt apparently didn’t seem to bother with them. 
She hesitated a moment. She smoothed back an errant strand into the ballet bun she hadn’t bothered to unravel. Although she’d changed out of her dance gear into her favorite old pair of jeans and a super-soft t-shirt, she hadn’t been in the mood to mess with her hair. Briefly, she regretted not being more like her twin sister, talented with makeup and hair. But, nope, Dylan had received the lion’s share of feminine genes. 
Whatever. She opened the door, and then froze. He was rubbing his hair dry with a white towel slung over one shoulder. The pristine white material emphasized his bronzed skin. Tiny beads of moisture clung to chiseled pecs and the light sprinkling of golden hair on his chest was the only thing preventing him from looking like a marble statue. Barely. Shredded eight-pack abs and sharp V-cuts of muscle converged at the waistband of a pair of jeans as faded as her own. Her mouth suddenly parched, she swallowed. Hard.
“Sorry, I got stuck on the phone.” He grinned and tossed the towel onto a nearby chair. 
She jerked her gaze up to his face, which had to be safer, right? Her pulse thrummed in her temple and heat descended to her belly. Damn. His face was definitely not safer than his gorgeous body. 
“How’d you get that scar?” She blurted out the words, desperate to distract herself from his pure physical presence. He really needed to put on a shirt. Pronto. 
“Scar? Which one?” He laughed, seemingly oblivious to her reaction, thank goodness. 
“Forehead. The one across your forehead.” A flaw. Weren’t scars flaws? Why did it make him look just a little dangerous? And it did save him from utter perfection. Didn’t it?


Buy Links

Google Play: TBA


 

Author Bio
Claire Marti started writing stories as soon as she was old enough to pick up pencil and paper. After graduating from the University of Virginia with a BA in English Literature, Claire was sidetracked by other careers, including practicing law, selling software for legal publishers, and managing a non-profit animal rescue for a Hollywood actress. 
Finally, Claire followed her heart and now focuses on two of her true passions: writing romance and teaching yoga.
Social Media Links
Twitter:  https://www.twitter.com/clairepmarti
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/clairepmarti
Bookbub:  https://www.bookbub.com/profile/claire-marti

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